


For the love of cake

by Atalto



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cuddling & Snuggling, Don’t copy to another site, Fluff, M/M, Shance Valentines 2019, Slight Hurt/Comfort, he's trying his hardest, literal fluff, post-s8 where no one died and everything is great, shiro can't cook, so pure it'll rot your teeth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-31 05:15:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17843156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atalto/pseuds/Atalto
Summary: Shiro tries to bake Lance a cake for both Valentine's day and to welcome his boyfriend home after a week-long mission.Needless to say, it doesn't end well.





	For the love of cake

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!  
> This is my gift for Kita as part of the 2019 Shance valentines! I focused mostly on your prompts 'Fluff' and 'Bake' for this, I hope that's okay!  
> (Also apologies that this is so short - I hope it's okay nonetheless)  
> Happy (late) valentine's day everyone!
> 
> Enjoy!

He never really thought there was something in the universe that was harder than destroying a large alien empire that controlled two thirds of the known universe.

He kind of assumed that topped it. Sure, diplomacy is pretty tricky, particularly when he wants to throttle half the attendees, and keeping calm at the Atlas helm when there are shots coming from left, right, and centre isn't exactly a walk in the park either.

Alas, here he is. It's five past three on a Thursday, and Shiro is attempting to bake for the third time this afternoon.

It's so much harder than Hunk made it out to be, or at least it feels harder. So far, it's either been so underdone the cake was still batter, or positively crispy, and he's being honest when he says he has no idea what he's doing wrong.

 _Bake a cake for Lance_ , they said.  _It'll be fine_ , they said-

He feels a groan rip from his lips as he buries his head in his hands, too tired to care about the batter on his hands that inevitably will get in his hair; all he wants to do is do something for Lance. His boyfriend is usually the king of Valentine's Day, having planned last year's festivities practically a month in advance.

But this year, he has a mission, Voltron having been dragged off to the edges of the universe on a job that's been going on for a week. It's almost exhausting, and Shiro would never have imagined quite how hard it is to be stuck in his studio flat-esque Atlas quarters with Lance being a video call away rather than a quick shipwide message.

The fact that they're coming back today has been practically the only thought that's been keeping him going. It's the driving force behind his actions, and apparently the one that's caused him to call a holiday and hole himself up in the small kitchen of his onboard quarters. Hunk has checked in three times already today, Keith in twice just to make sure he hadn't hurt himself, and as he tips the recent batter mix into the tin, he prays that there won't be a third time.

Hunk made it look so  _easy_.

Shiro feels a sigh grumble in his chest as he slips the tin into the oven, and he leans back on his haunches to slam the oven door shut. He's  _tired,_ and he's fairly sure that if he even  _looks_  at a cake once more he'll either cry or vomit, he's not sure.

Suddenly the prospect of going back in time to fight Haggar again is a much more preferable idea.

With a hum, he leans back on the wall opposite, sitting properly and tipping his head backwards to huff. What if Lance didn't even like it - it is cliched as all hell, and Lance tends to prefer more unique, personal ideas - or if Shiro couldn't produce something actually edible before Lance came home? What if Lance didn't want to do this valentine's thing at all-?

"Takashi, I'm back!"

Oh  _fuck_.

The sound of the door closing echoes around the quarters as Shiro pushes himself to his feet, suddenly aware of the huge floury mess he had left behind on every conceivable surface. The remnants of ruined cakes litter the kitchen, and Shiro can hardly get to them before he hears the familiar heavy footsteps of a battle-worn Lance at the entrance to the kitchen.

"Sweetheart, hey- woah," he hears Lance start, and spins on the spot to see Lance in full paladin uniform, dirtied and scuffed as he runs a finger through a trail of flour and broken egg shell near the fridge, "looks like a bakery tornado came and destroyed this place."

Shiro frowns, feeling a slightly embarrassed flush come to his face. "Welcome back?" He says with a sheepish grin, and Lance just quirks an eyebrow as he moves forward to wrap his armoured arms around Shiro's waist, "sorry, I thought I'd have tidied up by now."

"It's fine, don't worry," Lance replies with a grin, letting Shiro lace his arms around Lance's collar, "it's cute, I never realised you baked, y'know?"

"I don't," Shiro says with a pout, taking a brief moment to take in the maelstrom of baking equipment around them, "but I just thought-"

Lance just smiles playfully, standing on his tip toes to press a kiss to Shiro's forehead. "That's dangerous, y'know-"

"It's Valentine's Day," Shiro finally admits with a grumble, and he looks away to avoid the surprise that he knows is on Lance's face, "I was trying to bake a cake."

"For me-?"

Shiro rolls his eyes, earning a chuckle from Lance. "No, for the med tech that looked at you funny last week," he said with a glare, unable to help but smile as Lance pokes his tongue out in reply, "of course it's for you, I thought it would be nice."

Lance's face softens immediately, and there's a look in his eyes that makes Shiro practically melt into the slightly awkward embrace.   
"It  _is_ nice," Lance confirms, giving Shiro a gentle squeeze, "how long has it been in the oven?"

"It's just gone in," Shiro replies, suddenly thankful that he has binned the charred remains of the previous cake, "Hunk said to give it twenty minutes?"

It's then that Lance pulls away, if just to stretch and tug off the small parts of his armour, and Shiro realises that Lance has  _literally just come back from a mission_.

"In that time, I'm gonna' go shower," Lance says with a sigh, backing out of the kitchen with a smirk, "don't eat it without me!"

Now all Shiro has to do is pray that he doesn't fuck this one up as well.

* * *

 

Mercifully, Lance reappears out from the small ensuite about ten minutes later, dirt and sweat replaced with bandages and the gentle scent of coconut shower gel. It's a beautiful sight, lounge pants and a vest in place of heavy armour and a soft smile on his face, and one that only increases the previously absent warmth in Shiro's chest.

"I heard something about cake?" He asks, sitting next to Shiro on the small couch, "when will it be ready? I'm  _starved_ but dinner tonight smelt like actual sewage-"

"It's not that bad," Shiro replies with a grimace, and Lance raises an eyebrow in disbelief, "blame Iverson - he was the one who thought it was a good idea to try and blend human and altean cuisine."

Lance's face twists in repulse, and Shiro can't hold back a laugh at his pure disgust. "They're trying, you can't blame them."

"I know, I know," Lance says with a huff, and leans into Shiro's chest as a metal hand loops around his shoulders, "It's just, it tastes bad, y'know?"

Shiro feels himself nod, leaning to rest his head on top of Lance's; his hair is still damp slightly from the shower, and the smell of conditioner would be overwhelming if it wasn't something that Shiro loves. His other arm snakes around to Lance's waist as the other man snuggles in, and the unease that has been running loose in his chest for the past week settles as Lance practically melts against him.

For the first time in a week, Shiro feels calm.

"I missed you, y'know," Lance suddenly muses, and Shiro frowns down at where Lance is tucked under his chin, "is that dumb?"

"Of course not," Shiro replies, his own voice barely above a whisper, "I missed you too - ask any member of the bridge crew, they'll tell you how cranky I've been without you."

At that, Lance just sighs heavily, and if Shiro pays attention he can feel the energy bleed out of Lance's body. "It's just - oh man, I don't know - usually I love doing missions, but this entire time, all I could think about was coming home to you."

There's a very somber silence that falls upon the room, and all Shiro wants to do is bundle Lance up and hold him close all evening.

"At least you're here now," Shiro hums, and he feels Lance take a deep breath against his chest, "and you're safe, so that's all that matters."

He feels Lance nod, and he leans down to press a kiss to soft, chestnut hair before Lance moves up to meet him.

It feels almost like years since he's been kissed, only heightened by Lance's hand reaching up to cup the side of his face gently. He's nearly lulled into the kiss, eyes gently fluttering shut as Lance begins to move his lips in time with a silent rhythm, shared between the two of them through skin and love.

"I certainly am glad to be back," Lance then whispers against Shiro's lips, and for a split second it's hard to believe that there's a universe outside the two of them, "thank you."

Shiro's lost in azure blues for a second more before he presses his lips to Lance's battle-worn ones once again, and the universe, the  _Atlas_ , disappears-

Then the scent of burning hits his nose.

"Shit," Shiro suddenly hisses, and Lance pulls back wide-eyed, "cake."

Lance pales. "The cake."

And that's when the fire alarm starts.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading!


End file.
